Artworks for Doctrine & Covenants 3-17
Our artistic exploration of the Doctrine & Covenants continues! Each month, we'll share artworks from our permanent collection or visiting exhibitions that accompany the coming month's Come, Follow Me readings. You can also subscribe to get email reminders when new artworks are ready or follow along weekly on Instagram or Facebook. We hope that art-lovers everywhere will be inspired by these artworks as they complement their gospel study, family discussions, and church classes with fine art from around the world.
January 27 - February 2
The saints’ mistakes are a recurring theme in the Doctrine and Covenants. One of the clearest chastisements is for something many of us are often guilty of – in this case the Prophet Joseph Smith: “[How] oft you have transgressed the commandments and the laws of God, and have gone on in the persuasions of men.” Fortunately, divine criticism almost always comes with an important caveat: “But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen” (D&C 3:6, 10).
This painting by Sir Edward John Poynter depicts another familiar story of mistakes, mercy, forgiveness, and acceptance. Poynter’s prodigal son returns home in drab, faded clothing, unable to meet his father’s eye, but his loving father in brightly colored apparel gathers the boy into his arms in love and acceptance.
What does the phrase “God is merciful” mean to you?
February 3-9
Revelation–or divine guidance from heaven–is the basis of the Doctrine & Covenants. In Section 8, the Lord tells Oliver Cowdery that “the spirit of revelation… is thy gift; apply unto it, and blessed art thou, for it shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies” (D&C 8:3-4).
In Brian Kershisnik’s ‘L’arrivée des anges’ (‘The arrival of angels’), a pair of angels gives a helpful pointer to a young family. Two children look up at them, awestruck, but the mother looks instead at you, the viewer. Is she skeptical? Reluctant? Challenging? Or something else? What do you think?
February 10-16
This anonymous painting is one of the oldest objects in the Museum’s collection, estimated to be more than 500 years old! It’s a simple but reverent depiction of a monk: head bowed, eyes closed, and hands clasped in front of him—a familiar position of prayer. Prayer is even older than this painting; it’s a practice seen in countless cultures across thousands of years as people of differing beliefs sought solace, guidance, and communion from the divine.
Doctrine & Covenants 10:5 invites the reader to “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror,” and most of the sections in that book are revelations in direct response to earnest prayer. Consider your own experience with prayer and compare it with this passage of scripture and the painting. What do your prayers (and their outcomes) look like?
February 17-23
It was at a site on this river on a spring day in 1829 that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were baptized for the remission of sins. Despite threats of violence surrounding them, the two men described the aftermath of their baptism with jubilation. Joseph Smith recounts that “Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly Father.” Oliver similarly exclaimed, “What joy! what wonder! what amazement!”
The very next year, Thomas Doughty painted this riverscape of the Susquehanna as a pastoral paradise. Perhaps it was the beauty and serenity of this place that drew both the artist and the prophet to this location.
